Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Campylobacterota
Class:	"Campylobacteria"
Order:	Campylobacterales
Family:	Campylobacteraceae
Genus:	Campylobacter
Species:	C. jejuni
Binomial name
Campylobacter jejuni (Jones and Little, 1931) Veron & Chatelain, 1973

Campylobacter jejuni is a species of pathogenic bacteria that is commonly associated with poultry, and is also often found in animal feces. This species of microbe is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in Europe and in the US, with the vast majority of cases occurring as isolated events rather than mass outbreaks. Active surveillance through the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) indicates that about 20 cases are diagnosed each year for each 100,000 people in the US, while many more cases are undiagnosed or unreported; the CDC estimates a total of 1.5 million infections every year.^[1] The European Food Safety Authority reported 246,571 cases in 2018, and estimated approximately nine million cases of human campylobacteriosis per year in the European Union.^[2] Campylobacter jejuni infections are increasing at an alarming rate in Europe, North America, and Australia. In Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, data indicates that C. jejuni infections are endemic.^[3]

Campylobacter is a genus of bacteria that is among the most common causes of bacterial infections in humans worldwide. Campylobacter means "curved rod", deriving from the Greek kampylos (curved) and baktron (rod). Of its many species, C. jejuni is considered one of the most important from both a microbiological and public health perspective.^[4][5]

C. jejuni is commonly associated with poultry, and is also commonly found in animal feces. Campylobacter is a helical-shaped, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative, microaerophilic, nonfermenting motile bacterium with a single flagellum at one or both poles,^[6] which are also oxidase-positive and grow optimally at 37 to 42 °C.^{[7][8][9][10]} When exposed to atmospheric oxygen, C. jejuni is able to change into a coccal form.^[11] This species of pathogenic bacteria is one of the most common causes of human gastroenteritis in the world. Food poisoning caused by Campylobacter species can be severely debilitating, but is rarely life-threatening. It has been linked with subsequent development of Guillain–Barré syndrome, which usually develops two to three weeks after the initial illness.^[12] Individuals with recent C. jejuni infections develop Guillain-Barré syndrome at a rate of 0.3 per 1000 infections, about 100 times more often than the general population.^[13] Another chronic condition that may be associated with campylobacter infection is reactive arthritis.^[14] Reactive arthritis is a complication strongly associated with a particular genetic make-up. That is, persons who have the human leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) are most susceptible. Most often, the symptoms of reactive arthritis will occur up to several weeks after infection.^[4][15]